It's time to review every controversial scoring play

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews (19) flies over Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs in Chicago on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The Blackhawks won 3-1.

Photograph by: Nam Y. Huh
, AP

CHICAGO - When Game 1 of the Western Conference final here Sunday afternoon was nearly turned on its ear by a controversial goal/no goal call, we predicted a series entitled “When Jonathans Collide” was certain to follow.

Well, here’s Episode 1.

The plot is about the fine line between going to the net hard and burying the goalie. And it’s about the giant gray gulf between burying the goalie and actually getting called for burying the goalie.

And it’s about the National Hockey League’s mystifying reluctance to submit the controversial goals arising from that giant gray gulf to automatic video review.

Two events tie this episode together: New York forward Chris Kreider’s “accidental-on-purpose”, skates-first slide into Carey Price in Game 1 of the Eastern final that evidently has put the Canadiens’ goalie out for the rest of the series, and Chicago captain Jonathan Toews’s steamrollering of L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick in Game 1 of the Western final.

No goal arose from either incident, although the latter involved a supposedly verboten conversation with the war room in Toronto before (or possibly after) the officials on the ice conferred and decided Toews’s goal would not count owing to “incidental contact” before the puck entered the net.

“Incidental” evidently covers everything from a mild bump to a four-car pileup.

The first event has ramped up emotions between the Habs and Rangers to heights never dreamed of between these playoff strangers.

The second seemed destined to send Chicago coach Joel Quenneville’s blood pressure through the roof. But he was somewhat more philosophical Monday, the first of two off-days between Games 1 and 2. Of course, his team won the opener 3-1.

Every coach, he said, tells his forwards to go hard to the opponents’ net, and every coach tells his defencemen to box out and prevent the other team’s forwards from doing the same. So every coach is conflicted. Truth, said Kings’ Darryl Sutter.

“Such a fine line. If you look at the Montréal play, they're both right. If you look at our play last night, they're both right.

“One guy's trying to score, which is what we’ve tried to do ever since the game was first played, and the goalie's trying to stop the puck. I'm just glad we're (discussing whether) it was a goal or not a goal, I'm glad we're not talking about it today because our goalie was hurt. Not that their Jonathan was trying to run into our Jonathan, just the point that our goalie wasn't hurt.”

Montreal wasn’t so lucky on a collision that looked no more violent than Toews’s headlong tumble over top of Quick.

Neither Kreider nor Toews received a penalty on the play.

“The way the league is, the way it's called, it's something that you talk about a lot,” said Quenneville. “But to say exactly how to prevent it ….”

There may be no way to get the correct penalty call on every goalmouth collision, but on scoring plays, there’s no excuse for not getting it right.

It’s a technological development that began as “replay” on Hockey Night in Canada in 1955 and “instant replay” on CBS in 1963.

A half-century later, everybody’s using it to help officials out. But not on controversial scoring plays involving contact with the goaltender, in hockey, because that would be … What would it be, exactly?

“I'm really comfortable with the process the way it works now. Most of it does come from Toronto, unless it's a definitive call on the ice,” said Sutter.

To take it a step further would be “to take it right out of the official's hands, which is not what I want, what anybody wants,” the Kings coach said. “I mean, that was the intent of the two referee system, give a little bit more power to the linesmen in situations like that, so they go and talk about it quick. That's what they did.

“You know, there was a lot of talk this past summer about throwing the flag. But our game is not stop, start. It's more on the fly. So the more that you pull those situations into it, the more it sort of spaces your game out. I'm not for that.”

The general managers have been kicking around the idea of reviewing goaltender interference on scoring plays, but as of March’s GM meetings, the consensus was “No appetite for it.”

It may happen yet.

But here is the thing:

There are 5.5 goals scored in an average NHL game, of which maybe one or two on any given night are in the gray area of obstruction/contact/interference.

So let’s go big and say three times a game such a play occurs, (because maybe one goal is disallowed.) Three times a night, probably not that many, play might be held up to get the call right.

Would that really be a major imposition? Would it destroy the flow of the game, or is the flow of the game already an inside joke, because three times per period it is interrupted for two-minute commercial breaks, during which the live viewers get an eyeful of Ice Girls?

The rules on goalie obstruction/interference have been extensively rewritten since the days when the tip of Brett Hull’s skate blade inside the goal crease caused the entire city of Buffalo to lose its mind in the 1999 Stanley Cup final.

But the result is that it’s now Hudson’s Bay rules around the net.

The steamroller, on Sunday, got more consideration than the defenceman, L.A.’s Alec Martinez, who got a little overzealous trying to clear a convention around Quick and was handed the penalty that led to the Hawks’ first goal.

Goalie interference is not a simple fix, but it is fixable.

Review every scoring play that’s the least bit controversial.

Run a couple of commercials while the zebras are on the phone to Toronto, and cut out an equivalent number from the three mandated breaks per period.

Either that or give the referees more discretion to call it when a goaltender gets hit. Contact equals interference. It’s rarely incidental and even more rarely accidental.

Call it, or let Toronto call it. Disallow the goal AND call the penalty, when warranted.

This episode is brought to you by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Goalies.

More on This Story

Story Tools

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews (19) flies over Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs in Chicago on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The Blackhawks won 3-1.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.